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Pen setup working well for me

Last weekend I was talking with nuthatch333 and mentioned how I had finally ended up setting up the feed and water in the coop. I promised to post some pictures of what's working for me. Note my coop is heated so freezing of the water should not be an issue for me and this wouldn't work in a coop that freezes.

This is my wall cage system meant for overwintering 1-3 birds or as a breeding pen. Kane creep feeders with an overhead platform hold at least a weeks worth of feed and prevent poo falling in the top. Almost no wasted feed so far. Treat or grit or oystershell buckets clipped onto the bar on the door work well. 2L water bucket on the outside of the cage with a cutout in the wire makes for less spillage, cleaner water and easier filling. Pens have a nest box (eggs can be collected from the outside), and a roost with a ladder as the birds have a hard time flying in such tight quarters. Dimensions are about 5 feet wide by 2-2.5 feet deep by 5 feet tall. 2.5 feet deep is much better for the larger birds. Floor is plywood.

In the main coop this is the water system for this winter. The chooks adapted to using these little cups very quickly and it keeps the water clean with almost no spillage. Berryhill sells these cups, the pressure from the bucket of water (even 1 gallon) is enough to allow the cups to fill when the chicken drinks. I have a little submersible fish tank heater that I will put in the bucket if it gets really cold.

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Re: Pen setup working well for me

That looks great. Good idea to use the piping, much lighter and no dreaded stapling to wood. The thin black plastic mesh on those pipes is terrible and braces nothing and the chooks get out, we tried it. But that is great combo there .

I love how the 4 having the tea party in the pic are looking at the camera like they got caught eating a cream cake! We will eventually have heated coops and an automatic waterer setup. can't wait !

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Thank you for posting the pictures poplar girl. You have a really nice set up. I like the watering system. I could set up something like that in the summer, perhaps even in winter if I use the heater, I think I would have to use something a little heavier duty maybe a submersible water heater for cattle troughs. Changing water two or three times a day in the winter gets a bit tedious, a system like that with a heater would save me a lot of time. Thank you again for posting these.I absolutely love the new smilies.:hohoho:

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Very nice set up! I like the way you can fill the feeder from the outside and the water container holds so much water. You could actually go away for several days and just have a friend come to collect eggs. We use almost the same set up in our pigeon lofts. Saves a lot of work.

“Expecting life to treat you well just because you’re a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge you because you’re a vegetarian.” Unknown

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Susan and Flat Rock, are you trying to figure out the 5 gal on pail waterer with the little red cups? My DH installed them in the pail. He drilled a hole, threaded it with a "1/8" national pipe tread", and screwed them in. (I just asked him and this is what he tells me, sorry folks I had no idea putting those in was so complicated he is as engineer what can I say )

Anyway...they work off the pressure of the water in the pail. The little yellow thing in the middle when pushed down or pulled up or to the side let's the water in. So the chicken works it with it's beak just by sticking it's beak in the cup. There is very little dripping so far as the chickens wattles stay dry because the cups are small and so far they have never plugged, overflowed etc. Hasn't been -40 yet though either. When the pail is full the cups fill faster than when the pail is almost empty but it works either way.

And MG, yes I can leave everyone for a day or two without anyone needing to feed or water! It's nice to be able to do that. It allows us to go for overnight trips without bothering the neighbours to much. No one has spilled a food or water dish with this set up yet.

And Claire...it is amazing how much personality my chooks have! There is an Izzy head in that picture and then one in the upper left corner and those two are so cheeky. My little gorria EO (Cinnamon) is also in there and she is as miscevious as it gets. My flock of little monsters

Re: Pen setup working well for me

PG Can you post some close up pictures of your watering and feeding systems. My Engineer DH wants a more detailed plan. Drawings, measurements and systematics would be appreciated. WEll You know what they're like!!!

Some of us are driven by the need to make animals a part of our lives. We are soothed by their presence, fascinated by their behavior, and amused by their antics.

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Thanks PG I had kind of figured the pails out but I did not realize that those water cups had a value I had visions of water everywhere Hey Lynn maybe if John can figure it out please give me the details, LOL

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Okay...some more pics. If this is not the info you are looking for let me know.

So the two pieces of angle iron on the door are 8 inches and 11 inches above the floor. For large chickens 11 inches up works well. A flat piece of metal would be better as then you could hang from either side. The water bucket holds 2L (eggcarton.com) The other container on the door is for grit and oyster shell. The kane feeder I ordered from cbotkin.

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Some close up pictures of the cups. It's hard to show them in action. The chickens don't really seem to yank or push on the yellow thing but they all learned how to use the cups right away and seem very happy with them. I used nipples last year and they don't like them. They will use them only if very thirsty. These little cups they like. The bucket has a lid and a pour spout with a cap, both are on loosely so air can get in the pail when the water comes out.

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Well the proof is in the pudding...or in this case in how everything works (or doesn't!) at -38*C with a windchill factor making temperatures "feel like" -48*C for 3 or 4 days and nights in a row. Somehow -20*C is now feeling pretty good after that!!

So with air temperatures at about 5 ft above the floor of +10*C, lower down by the floor the cage water buckets and the little automatic drinking cups were freezing up overnight. I solved the drinking cup problem by putting a submersible fish tank heater in the bucket...voila no more frozen cups!! The cage buckets I just dumped the ice out and filled them with warm water in the morning.

So my electic bill (due to the electric heater) is going to be BAD after last week but the chooks barely new that it was so cold my eye lids were freezing walking to and from their coop...

We are expecting really nice weather again by tomorrow and through the week, around -4*C for daytime highs

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Wow, that is great the chooks are so comfy, I can see why you want more straw bale coops! I am sorry you are having such cold temps there, definitely miserable to doing chores or anything outside in. But at least once you are in the coop you are comfy then too with all your chookies greeting you.

It is -11 here tonight and feels like maybe -4 or -5, so we must be getting used to it. I haven't been wearing gloves out the coop in the morning when I let the chooks out and am loving the warm eggs they girls are laying to keep my hands warm!

Re: Pen setup working well for me

Hi PG! I absolutely love your setup! I know that I'll definitely be getting some creep feeders... I think that'll help the girls not be so messy with their food!!

I haven't had any of ours not like the nipple waterers, but they have been using them since they arrived here as tiny chicks. It took them all of 30 seconds before discovering "the shiny thing gives you water when you peck it!" once one started, they all followed suit. I haven't has a single poopy water to change since starting their use! We use a 5 gallon bucket with 5 nipples, gravity fed, threaded into the bottom for the main coop, and threaded into the bottom of 1L bottles for the bachelor huts. The only bother was trying to find an 11/32 inch drill bit for the hole, then they just threaded in. However, I have been wanting to try out the cup system to see how they work out anyway.

I also LOVE the fish tank heater idea! When you said it, I was like... duh!... so simple I'd NEVER have thought of it!! Thanks!!!

Re: Pen setup working well for me

My chooks successfully used the nipple waterers last winter as well choctawgal the only difference I noticed was if I went out with a bucket of water they were always wanting to drink from it. With these little cups they seem happier because they can stick their beak in a little water. So when I go out with a bucket of water now they don't pay much attention. Silly spoiled girls! Plus when it was really cold those nipple waterers dripped, with these little cups no spilled water so no ice stalagmites! I am thinking of setting up the cup waterers on some of the wall pens using plastic piping...maybe in the new coop addition we are building this summer we'll try that.